Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Philosophy and ethics for Baccalaureate

The Scientific Revolution: 15th-17th Centuries

Origins and Early Influences

The Scientific Revolution, spanning the 15th to 17th centuries, found its origins in the Middle Ages. It emerged from a critique of the Aristotelian scholastic interpretation, emphasizing the importance of Platonic mathematics.

Key figures laid the groundwork:

• Nicholas of Cusa: Proposed an infinite universe, lacking an absolute center, and supported Neoplatonic ideas.
• Giordano Bruno: Advocated for heliocentrism, further developing Neoplatonic concepts.

Copernicus and the New Cosmic Vision

Nicolaus Copernicus introduced elements that combined an old vision with a new image of the universe. The traditional view considered the universe spherical and adhered to geocentrism. Copernicus,...

1. Descartes' Methodical Doubt

Overcoming Doubt

Descartes' methodical doubt, unlike radical skepticism, is provisional. The goal is to find a truth that is undeniable.

The Purpose

Descartes' method begins with a diagnosis applied to the era. Humanity is like a sick man who must free himself from his sickness. Descartes decides that the path to truth must undergo a destructive critique of everything we know with certainty.

The Method

Descartes' method is like having faith in critique. It is a seemingly impossible task. He asks skeptical questions, directly attacking the foundations of our knowledge. He applies skepticism to doubt our senses and reason.

1.1 First Argument: Senses and Reason

We cannot trust our senses because they often deceive us (e....

Descartes' Critique of Scholasticism and Experience

Descartes, formed in scholastic philosophy, warned that this philosophy did not respond to the issues and concerns of its time. Instead, he found in mathematics a secure and rigorous science used to develop his method. In empirical experience, the subject is passive, and the knowledge that experience provides is doubtful. In contrast, in mathematics, the subject is active, leading to clear and certain knowledge. This certainty stems from the knowledge itself, without recourse to experience.

Therefore, Descartes departs from experience and seeks reason as the foundation of his method and the justification of all knowledge.

Defining the Cartesian Method

Descartes defined his method as: “a certain...

Aristotle's Physics: The Nature of Being and Motion

Aristotle attempted to overcome the gulf that Plato had introduced between the intelligible world and the sensible world. This separation was unmaintainable for Aristotle.

Like Heraclitus, Aristotle believed that natural beings are subject to constant movement. The very condition of physical beings is to be mobile. Nature, for Aristotle, is a principle of movement and change. To think of the physical world is to think of it as becoming—a continuous transformation that responds to a reason or logos.

The Principle of Motion and Change

Aristotle rejects an external principle of motion for things and is compelled, in a sense, to admit that 'not-being' exists within the real, since any change is...

Essential Vocabulary for The Scarlet Letter

This list defines key terms and concepts central to understanding the themes, social dynamics, and moral conflicts in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.

• Adultery: Having a sexual relationship with someone who is not your husband or wife.
• Punishment: Something unpleasant given to someone for doing something wrong.
• Shame: A painful feeling of being embarrassed because of something wrong.
• Guilt: The feeling that you have done something wrong.
• Sin: An action considered morally or religiously wrong.
• Sinner: A person who has done something morally or religiously wrong.
• Forgive: To stop being angry with someone for something they did.
• Redemption: The act of becoming free from guilt or blame.
• Judgment: An opinion

Doxa: In Plato's theory of knowledge, doxa is the lowest level of knowledge. Through the five senses, we obtain information about the Physical World in which we live. Episteme: In Plato's theory of knowledge, episteme is the highest level of knowledge. Through the faculty of reason, we gain knowledge of the Forms in the World of Forms. Allegory of the Cave: A metaphor used by Plato to explain how, through knowledge and education, we can escape the Physical World and reach the World of Forms.

Aristotle's Knowledge

Sensory knowledge (Aristotle): Through the knowledge provided by the five senses, we understand the accidental characteristics of beings: position, colour, weight, etc. These characteristics are related to matter (hyle). Rational knowledge

Core Legal and Ethical Principles

• Standard of Due Care: The expected level of diligence and care in a specific situation.
• Cohort: A group sharing a common characteristic, often used in studies.
• Legal Hybrid Theory: A blend of different legal principles or theories.
• Conflict of Interest: A situation where personal interests clash with professional duties.
• Broad View of Corporate Responsibility: Corporations have wider societal responsibilities.
• Pros & Cons of Protections: Advantages and disadvantages of legal and ethical protections.
• Paternalism: Governing individuals by limiting their autonomy for their perceived benefit.
• Corporate Personhood: Legal notion granting corporations certain individual rights.
• The Pacing Problem: Technology advances faster

Aristotle on Happiness, Virtue and Justice

Being and the Good

For Aristotle there is an exact correlation between being and the good. There is no single being, but many beings, and there is no single good but many private goods.

Ethics as Telological and Eudaimonistic

Aristotle's ethics is essentially telological and eudaimonistic. All human actions are oriented toward the achievement of the good. This good is the final cause. These goods are more or less desirable but are not considered the highest good. But the difficulty lies in determining specifically what those goods and that happiness consist of.

The Highest Good and Its Characteristics

According to Aristotle, the greatest good or happiness has the following characteristics:

• It is a way of

Chapter 1
What are some of the reasons the world is increasingly threatening, according to Paul and Elder? (p. 3)
A world in which national mass media gain more and more power over the minds of people.
A world in which increasing numbers of civilians find themselves trapped in the crossfire of warring groups and ideologies.
A world in which privacy is increasingly penetrated by multiple invasive technologies: face-recognition software, DNA testing, e-mail review systems, credit card tracking, and auto-tracking systems.
Why is a complex world a problem for critical thinking? (p. 6)
Much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed, or downright prejudiced. Critical thinking begins, then, when we start thinking about...